The Wrath of Sekhmet
by Yume no Kuroi
Summary: A drifter with a curse, on her way to Cairo she meets new people she considers friends. While wandering all of Egypt after meeting new friends, she encounters Egypt's most wanted criminal. Rated M for language/violence and later chapters -wink,wink-
1. Scroll One

Well, I've finally done it! I've gotten the balls to post my very first fanfiction! Yay! Go me! Any who. Please be gentle with me, 'kay? =3  
Hopefully this story is to your liking... I stayed up pretty late the other night trying to write this and only got four hours of sleep as a result.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or it's characters. I only own my characters Oba and Shoshan and any other characters I decide to throw in to this concoction of madness. Safiya, Atsu, and Ata belong to Yume-Ebony (who is also the same Yume of Yume no Kuroi). If I did own Yu-Gi-Oh! and its spin-offs, I wouldn't have to go to college to earn a degree, I could retire early at the age of twenty.**

Now enjoy the story.

* * *

**Scroll One:**

**-Fear is the mind-killer.**

**Fear is the little death that brings **

**total obliteration.-**

_ She had been found, with her umbilical cord still attached, at the feet of the statue of the great Goddess worshiped by those of Luxor—she was taken in by the priests and priestesses of the Temple of Mut. When they had found her, she had the stem of a flower in her hand. At the end of the stem was a fully bloomed lotus—so they named her Shoshan. As the years past, she was raised as a temple maiden to take on the chores of keeping the temple in good shape. She befriended most of those who worked in the temple, becoming their little sister. On her sixteenth birthday, she was taken to the Head Priest and Priestess. It was the Head Priestess who told her of her future—and what was to come of it. **"My child... You have a darkness within you that none of us can cleanse... I am sorry...**_

_ She stared at the Head Priestess with confused brown eyes. **"You must leave the temple by midnight tonight... We will provide for you a horse, food, and water... You must earn money on your own..."** The old man who was the Head Priest looked at her with cold eyes. **"We cannot keep you here any longer..." **She could see the sorrow in his grey wisdom filled eyes._

_ The thought of losing one of his _**children**_ struck his heart with grief. **"But why? What is this evil spirit that plagues me!"** she cried out, large tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She didn't want to hear the answer to her question, her heart was already in pain as it is from the news of having to leave her home. She turned on her heel and bolted from the chambers and locked herself in her room,crying herself to sleep—hoping that this was just a horrible nightmare._

_ A knock on her door awoke her from her restless slumber. She soon found herself at the stables with her oldest friend, Tau. **"Apep—he plagues you with chaos and destruction..."** he said, his deep voice rumbling in his chest. **"Tell no one of the darkness rooted inside you, do you understand? If someone were to get wind of it, they could use you to bring down the Pharaoh Atem."**_

_ She nodded._

The desert was such a barren wasteland—it was funny how many animals and plants could survive its intense heat during the day and chilling winds at night. But here she was, traveling through the greatest hell on earth created by the Gods themselves. Her hood did very little to protect her head from the sun beating down on her. The warm breeze blew sand everywhere, thankfully, she had wrapped a piece of cloth around her mouth as to keep the blowing sand out. She had no family—that she knew of from either side of her family and she had no home to call her own, she was an outcast, a drifter who wandered from city to city, village to village, to take on odd jobs to earn money for food and water for her journey. Her current destination was to get through the desert to Egypt's most powerful city, Cairo. She wasn't foolish to walk that kind of distance, she was traveling by horse.

Her horse, a roan colored stallion, walked sluggishly through the sand. In the distance, their target was an oasis that had miraculously survived in the barren wasteland that was Egypt. "Ra, could it be any warmer today?" she mumbled to herself. She lowered her head and closed her eyes. She hadn't slept in a few days, having been traveling since the beginning of the week.

In the far distance, her ears picked up on the sound of horse hooves heading her way—and from the sound of it, it sounded like there were at least six sets of four legs headed for her. Opening her eyes, she grabbed the hilt of her falcata ,that she kept hidden from prying eyes, beneath her hooded robe and brought her horse to an abrupt stop. The horse jerked his head back, startled. "Whoa, Oba, easy boy." She patted the beasts neck and directed her look towards the oncoming dust cloud. She could hear whooping and yelling. _Thieves._ She kept her hand under her robe, grasping the handle of her falcata tighter.

As they came into view and began to circle her now panicking horse, she kept her head down and watched from the rim of her hood at the ugly men who surrounded her. "Give us your goods and maybe we'll let you go unscathed," one said, bringing his horse to a stop just a few feet in front of Oba.

"And if I refuse?"

"Then we kill you and take your things anyway," a different voice said. A hand reached out toward her, grabbing her shoulder—trying to yank her from her horse.

_O Goddess Sekhmet, give me the power to defeat thy enemies._ As if the great Goddess answered her prayer, the young travel brought forth her weapon and slashed upward into the man's arm. Blood hit the sand without a sound—it stained the ground with a ruby colored puddle and an arm lay in the middle of it. The men backed their horses away from the woman. "If you wish for the same fate as your friend here, then be my guest. If not, then leave me to my journey," her voice was calm, she nudged her horse forward, passing the men as she went. "And send a message to your master—if he wishes for revenge, then he can find me in Cairo." Squeezing the sides of her horse, she took off at a gallop, leaving the dying man and his friends in the dust of her tracks.

***

Safiya watched from the second story of her family's home as her father sold their hand crafted pots to those who stopped by the stand just outside their home that also doubled as a travelers inn. Her auburn colored hair was pulled back into a loose braid that hung over her shoulder. She sat on the windowsill and turned her copper colored gaze from staring at the busy streets below to the bright blue skies above. _It's going to be a warm day... Hopefully the crops won't catch fire..._ The small village she lived in was a small farming village that sat just on the outskirts of the large city known as Cairo. She had just come in from the fields, helping her friend and their family bring in the summer harvest. After being outside since the crack of dawn, she was sore and she wanted nothing more than to sleep and rest her feet and back—both of which screamed at her in protest for the pain.

Down stairs, she could hear her younger brothers Ata and Atsu, arguing about chores. A small smile formed on her lips. Despite them being a pain in her back side, she was going to miss them dearly when the end of the summer season came. It was then that she was to travel to the palace in Cairo to work as a servant for the Pharaoh Atem and what was left of his royal family—the next in line to take the throne. Both the twelve year olds helped out their mother by running errands to and from the small market located in the middle of the village.

She had heard stories from the others who had glimpsed the young Pharaoh. All of them said the same thing—"He's absolutely beautiful!" and "He has the most gorgeous amethyst colored eyes". Although she'd never been to the city itself, she allowed her imagination to fill in all the gaps of what the young Pharaoh looked like. It made her heart race.

Down below her windowsill, she took notice of a hooded rider getting off of their horse. The rider was draped in dark heavy robes, his face barely visible. She could see the strangers yes—they were a light brown color and filled with mystery. He held the reigns to his horse who shook his head, letting his ebony colored mane sway. Her father told her something and Safiya watched on as the mysterious rider disappeared around the back, heading for the stables and reappeared moments later with a small stack of coins in hand to give to her father.

Having become curious of the stranger, Safiya ignored the pain in her joints and went down stairs to see her mother conversing with the rider. "If it's a job you are wanting, I'm sure I can find something for you to do here at the inn—as long as you work here, you don't have to pay for your room," her mother said. "Judging by the look in your eyes, you must be exhausted." Her mother caught sight of her daughter standing on the stairs. "Safiya, take our guest to one of the vacant rooms—then go help your father with the stand outside."

Safiya nodded, her braided hair rubbing against the underside of her chin. The masked rider turned towards her as she left the stairs and headed down the hall towards the last room that was vacant. They arrived at the room. "This is where you will be staying. You should probably rest before you go to work," she advised to the figure.

He shuffled past her, the material of his robes lightly brushing her hand. Standing in the middle of the room, the light eyed stranger began to disrobe himself—dark crimson wrapped hair made itself known to the young sixteen year old. As the layers of robes disappeared, the young copper eyed teen began to see more feminine curves to the rider. The rider, whom she thought was a _he_ was actually a _she_. The redhead had to be at least a year or two older than her. "One of my brothers should be here soon with some food and drink for you Miss--"

"Shoshan. My name is Shoshan. There is no need to call me 'Miss'." Her voice was raspy from lack of moisture.

"--Shoshan. My name is Safiya. If there is anything else you need, please don't hesitate to come to the front desk and ask. Dinner is at mid-sundown." Safiya turned on her heel and left the young woman to her own devices.

Shoshan nodded and closed the door to the small room. Although her stomach growled for food and her throat ached for water, all she truly wanted to do was sleep. She had gone at least about two to three days without sleep—when she made camp at night while traveling, she kept a small fire going and stood guard as to keep her horse, Oba, safe from predators and thieves. Her eyes traveled to the soft bed against the wall and lay down. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.

Safiya made her way to her mother. "Our newest guest, she is a woman—she's probably a year or two older then me—why is she traveling by herself!? The desert is a death trap for women who travel alone! It's filled with wild carnivorous beasts and thieves."

"Couldn't you tell by the way that she dresses, the look that shows in her eyes. She knows how to take care of herself, Safiya," her mother chided.

* * *

**Kuro: Review, rate, message me! I hope to get good feed back from you. If you have any questions, please let me know!**

Shoshan - Translates from Egyptian to mean "Lotus"

Safiya - Translates from Egyptian to mean "Pure"

Ata and Atsu - Translates from Egyptian to mean "Twin"

Oba - Translates from Egyptian to mean "King"


	2. Scroll Two

Well, I should be proud of myself. I've written chapter two! X3  
I've only gotten one review so far, but hey, that's good enough for me to write more--for now. I bet some of you are wondering  
"If this is a Thief Bakura story, then why isn't he in the story yet?", well hold yer horses ladies (and gentlemen who may find the  
desert thief to be attractive). He's gonna make his appearance in this chapter soon so don't get your panties and/or briefs in a  
bunch, jeebus.

**Disclaimer:** Again, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or its spin-offs or its merchandise--or its characters for that matter... As much as I want  
to own that damned sexy thief, GAH! He is **_so_** sexy.

* * *

**Scroll Two:**

**-From the Heavens the descend  
wreaking havoc on the innocent-**

**

* * *

**

Safiya rolled her copper colored eyes and left her mother to tend to the other guests. The sixteen year old ventured outside to find her father making  
a deal with a customer who walked off with a large clay pot and three smaller pots in his cart that was pulled by a donkey. Her father, a bear of a man,  
placed the coins into a small pouch which he then stored on the inside of his robes. "Mother told me to come and help you with the stand," she stated,  
rearranging a few smaller pots that lay strewn about the table top. "How much has the stand earned today?"

"Ten gold pieces—those pots I just sold are headed for the Pharaoh's palace," he said with a smile. "Instead of helping me here at the stand, could  
you tend to the traveler's horse? The poor beast must be weakened from thirst."

"Is that what she paid you for?"

"Yes."

"Did she tell you where she was heading from?"

Her father opened his mouth to say something when his sons came running up to him from around the corner behind their home. "That horse in the  
stable—who does it belong to?" Ata asked as his exact double was bent over, trying to catch his breath. Both of their brown hair was tied back into  
what they considered a warriors tail. They'd never seen a horse of that color--sure they'd heard of horses of that color, but it was the first one they  
seen in their twelve years of being alive.

"He belongs to our guest—which one of you should be tending to right now," Safiya gave them each a look of annoyance.

Both boys grumbled and trudged past them and into the house to help their mother. Rolling her eyes heavenwards, she notice a large blackish-purple  
bird flying over head before it swooped down and flew into the house going through the wall. Startled, she ran in and caught sight of its tail feathers  
disappearing down the hall. She ran towards the hall only to find that it had disappeared. What the hell? What in Ra's name was that... Scratching the  
back of her head, confused,  
she went back outside to tend to Shoshan's horse, grabbing three apples from the counter in the kitchen area.

The horse was more than happy to see the young girl come in with several apples and a large pale of water. He nearly pranced in his stall. "For  
a 'weakened' animal, you seem to be full of energy..." she mumbled as the animal nudged her arm holding the apples. He wanted to eat them,  
and now. "Would you hold on? You're acting as though you haven't eaten in days!"

Holding an apple out to Oba, she nearly yanked her hand away as he greedily devoured it--almost taking her fingers in the process. Her mind went back to  
the bird she witnessed fly right through the wall. And realized that the bird hadn't made a 'whooshing' noise as it flew past--it was as if it were a ghost.

* * *

"Where is Zuka?"

His men coward before him, afraid to tell their King what happened to his best warrior. No one wanted to tell him the news—they were all  
afraid of losing their lives at his wrath. They all huddled together. If worse came to worse, they'd all scramble and try to run faster then the other  
to save their own lives—if was every man  
for themselves, a rule most thieves went by when faced with fear.

Silence met his ears and he became annoyed. "Where is Zuka?" he asked once more, putting an emphasis on 'is'. His lavender colored eyes  
held a menacing aura to them. As he gazed down at the cowardice lot standing before him. His ivory colored hair stood out against his bronze  
skin. He sat against small throne of pillows that covered the stone platform beneath him. His crimson colored robes had been discarded onto a  
pillow next to him.

"Zuka is—he is dead, Bakura." The way the sentence was said told him that they were scared to death of how he'd react to this news.

He could smell the thick aura of fear, a sick and twisted smile tried to form on his face at the thought of his men pissing themselves in fear.  
Dead? How can that be? "What do you mean 'dead'?" Now he was really confused. How could his best fighter and oldest friend be dead?

"We were traveling through the desert... Looking for caravans to rob... When we came across a lone traveler riding on a horse," one of his  
men said.

Bakura raised a brow at this statement. "What does this traveler have to do with anything? Who killed Zuka?" he asked once more, irritation  
in his voice as his men refused to say anything. Why was good help hard to find these days?

"It was the traveler, Bakura, she killed him--" another interjected to the conversation.

"She used her sword to lop off his arm with such speed--it was inhuman!" another thief exclaimed, flinching as Bakura shifted in his seat.

The white haired male uncrossed his legs and sat on the edge of his throne, legs parted--pulling the material of his cloth skirt tight.

"He bled to death... We buried him out in the desert," a thief by the name of Ubaid said, adverting his gaze to the ground.

Ubaid was well into his thirties. His wife was one of the many women who prepared the meals for the men when they returned from a raid. He  
and his wife were expecting their first child--they continuously prayed to the Gods that the baby was a healthy boy who would learn the ways  
of being a thief--like his father. Despite being older than Bakura, he was terrified of the white haired nineteen year old male. "She wanted us to  
relay a message to you," he said.

"And what _message_ is this?" his voice was deadly.

"She said that if you want to seek revenge, to find her in Cairo."

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**Kuroi: Well there's chapter two! Yay! Now do me a BIG favor, see the button that says "review"? Press it and leave your comments. The more reviews there are, the better chance of me popping out another chapter to this story. Now I'm off to go to sleep... I need to be well rested for a follow up interview tomorrow... (O_o)...  
I'm gonna bomb it so bad! I just know it! (X_X)  
**

**Translation:  
**Zuka translates from Egyptian for "Grave; High tomb" (and look where he ended up -__-)  
Ubaid translates from Egyptian for "Faithful"


	3. Scroll Three

**Kuro: **It's been awhile huh? Sorry to have kept you all waiting for so long, but lately it's been hectic in my family as of late. I've got term papers and tests out the wahzoo from my teachers, I'm currently still looking for work, and on top of that, I turn twenty today—a day I wish not to happen. Why? Because, I don't want to be _**old**_. **TT^TT**

Changing topics! I'm currently writing another story, after waiting almost 10 years for the director to make an f-ing sequel. But it was worth it! Can you guess what I'm talking about? If you do, yay! If you don't, then in the words of King Arthur from **Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail**, "you make me sad". Go check it out! It's called "That Irish Temper".

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Nuff said.

* * *

**Scroll Three:**

**[I feel numb  
I can't come to life  
I feel like  
I'm frozen in time]**

* * *

**I**t was a quiet night in the city of Cairo. She had made an appointment with the Pharaoh Atem through his many advisors, but she doubted that they'd give him the wouldn't believe her story even if she had proof, evidence for them, that she wasn't lying through her teeth to get the Pharaoh's good graces or his money. She sighed, laying back onto the straw mattress in the small room she was renting for the night. Dinner had been pleasant, the two young boys whom she assumed to be the older teens younger brothers, Ata and Atsu, asked her questions about traveling through the desert, whether or not she'd fought any bandits or thieves (though she kept that part from them).

Her light colored eyes became heavy with sleep. She groaned as she stretched her limbs and felt something crack (**A/N: Believe me, that feels **_**so**_** good... Especially after a long stressful day...^3^**). Having been on a saddle for hours on end strained her back, and nothing was more comfortable than laying down on a bed without having to keep an eye out for bandits. Rolling over on to her side, she closed her eyes to welcome the sleep she'd been hoping for. Her mind conjured the most oddest of dreams she had ever had in her time of being alive.

_She stood in darkness. It was hard to tell where the ground and sky met. Everything was black, she couldn't even tell if she was floating or not. Shoshan stretched her arms before her, out of reflex, and attempted to grab at anything that could have been laying before her. Her feet felt as though they were firmly planted onto the ground._

_The darkness gave way to light which than gave way to a cold stony dark corridor. __**Come...**_ _The voice was but a whisper. But she had heard it distinctly without having to strain her ears. It sounded powerful and demonic, it sent a tingling sensation up her spine._

_Curiosity got the best of her and she followed the voice. __**Come... To me... Child...**_ _It was like she was hypnotized. She followed the darkened hallway to a large vacant room. In the middle of the room sat a large golden throne. In the darkness of the corners of said room, something slithered past her. She whirled around, looking for the source but found nothing._

_**"Where are you!?"**__ she called out to it, fear finding its way into her voice. __**"Who are you!?"**_

_Silence met her questions before a firm hand placed itself on her shoulder from behind, causing her to tense and look over her shoulder. She was met with the sight of gold colored orbs that held an unsaid danger that kept her silent. Beauty was something that could not describe the woman standing behind her--she was radiant, her flawless sun-kissed skin and crimson colored hair; she was like a Goddess. __**"Who--Who are you?" **__Shoshan whispered in awe as she continued to stare at the woman behind her. She took notice of what the woman was wearing; a dress made of pure white silk, which hung loosely to her, which pooled at her feet. Around each arm, right below her shoulders, were two snake like armlets with ruby eyes. On her forehead, hidden by the soft wavy crimson locks, was a headdress made of gold, the tip resembled a lions head--emerald jewels for its eyes. She gave a warm smile to the startled girl._

_**I am here to protect you...**__ came her soothing voice._

"_**Protect me? From what?" **_

_**Apep... **__was all that she said before disappearing in a wisp of smoke, making Shoshan cough._

Her coughing fit woke her up from her light slumber. She sat up, rubbing her hand over her face. It was late at night, that much she could tell. A yawn escaped her lips. Her eyes still felt heavy, but she couldn't bring herself to fall back to sleep.

Getting up from her bed, she walked over to the open window and looked out to the silent sleeping city. A cold breeze blew through the buildings, carrying small particles of sand along the dirt road. It had been so much livelier during the day. Now that she looked at it, it seemed barren and empty--void of all life. _Why has Apep claimed me as his curse barer?_ She found herself asking this question many times, but she still received no answers. Was this question to remain unanswered until she lay on her death bed?

A chill ran up her spine. Deciding that she wasn't going back to sleep, she pulled her robes back on, bringing the hood up to keep her head warm from the cold desert winds, strapping her falcata to her side. She crept out of her room, passing the quiet rooms of the other sleeping guests.

She had made it to the end of the hall at the top of the stairs before one of the room doors opened to reveal a sleepy looking Safiya. "Go back to bed," she whispered to the girl who rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Where are you going?"

"To check on my horse, Oba." That was only half of the truth. The other truth was that she had a feeling something terrible was coming towards the small village—but she wasn't going to tell that to her.

* * *

**Kuro:** Well, there's Scroll Three! Yay! Hope you enjoyed it! The lyrics posted at the beginning, right under "Scroll Three" are from Three Days Grace's song **World So Cold**... Now if you pardon me... Imma go sit in a corner and cry my eyes out at being _**OLD**_.


	4. AUTHOR'S NOTE

To the readers,

I'm going to be rewriting this story—sorry for the inconvenience. My reason? I don't like how it's playing out, and it needs to seriously be redone.

Yume no Kuroi


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